


[FFXV] The Blessing of Not Knowing

by anpathio



Series: FFXV - 活動文 [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gladnis, Ignis Scientia X Gladiolus Amicitia, M/M, イググラ, 伊格尼斯 X 格拉迪歐
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27916363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anpathio/pseuds/anpathio
Summary: Gladio Week DAY 2Trust / A night in Lestallum /"Between you and me..."#GladnisM.E.756, Late JuneAfter the reunion in Lestallum with survivors from Insomnia, that night Gladiolus left with his cellphone on bed and no words.Ignis knew Gladiolus would not do anything irrational but even himself felt anxious like never before.
Relationships: Ignis Scientia/Gladiolus Amicitia
Series: FFXV - 活動文 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012950
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: Gladio Week





	[FFXV] The Blessing of Not Knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Recommend BGM  
> https://youtu.be/vpg8JYMpvAc  
> David Bruggemann - Forever
> 
> To my understanding, there are some subtle (or sometimes huge) differences in characters between Japanese ver. and English ver..  
> All my writings, characters and events are based on my Japanese ver. playthroughs plus official works + Ultimania 1&2 (also in Japanese).  
> I translate this fic into English using google translation ＆ DeepL, make some adjustments, delete or re-write the paragraphs which I can't translate.  
> Sorry if it seems out of characters and with grammar errors.

M.E.756, Late June

「Four cans of beer right?  
Want some snacks to go with it? These are delicious!」

Rejecting the hawker's intention to promote further products, Ignis checked out and walked out of the shop in a haste.  
He turned around to reconfirm that the familiar big guy did not show up in the bustling market, and continued to ponder the possible whereabouts of Gladiolus.

Arrived at Lestallum that night, and heard the reports from Iris, Jared and others who had escaped from the Insomnia, Gladiolus decided to let everyone go back to their rooms and rest.  
That was only half an hour ago.

After Ignis arranged lodging and other follow-ups, he returned to their room and found Gladiolus had disappeared.  
With his cell phone left on the bed, as if he did not want to be found.

Ignis could understand why Gladiolus would want to be alone at this moment, and he normally would wait for him to return.  
But now, feeling emotionally distracted, he knew that he wanted to see Gladiolus.

So where to find him?  
Even if he has the ability to fight against daemons alone, Gladiolus wouldn't deliberately run far, this was not the occasion to vent his anger.  
After discussing with the store owner, Ignis climbed onto the roof of the third floor, trying to think from a different perspective.

He successively ruled out some possibilities of this lively city: for example, the power plant area that requires permission to enter (he will not trouble the ladies), and the area under the observatory park (even if he can cross the walls easily, it is too obvious for passers-by).

When Ignis looked up, he found that despite the light pollution in the city, the stars and the Milky Way were still clearly visible.  
It occurred to him that Gladiolus is actually a romanticist.  
When walking at night in the Duscae area, he is the one that reminded others, after finishing a hard fight with the Iron Giant, to look up at the stars.

If he were Gladiolus, how would he choose the place for stargazing?

******

「Ignis? I'm surprised you could find here.」  
Lying on the slope, Gladiolus did not even raise his head to look at the person approaching.  
He knew only a handful of people could hide their footsteps to a level that was almost inaudible.

『Fortunately, I found you before the beer gets warm.』  
When he saw the familiar silhouette, Ignis was thankful that his intuition hadn't lose its accuracy.  
His words were an understatement compared to what he just went through in order to find Gladiolus.

He started directly from the roof, since the efficiency of moving on the roof is greater than that of walking on the ground.  
Along on the way, he stopped in order not to startle the cats resting on the roof and tried to find the next foothold.  
In order to avoid been seen, he sneaked through the corridors of other people's homes, climbed pipelines, and finally reached the other side of the city.  
Ignis entered the hillside from the corridors of higher buildings.  
With just a little distance, the building effectively isolated hustle and bustle of Lestallum.  
It was indeed a good choice for stargazing, even if it was only an excuse.

Hearing him sniffing secretly, Ignis sat down beside Gladiolus and offered him beer, while thoughtfully turned his head.  
『I didn't expect to see so many stars in the city.』

「Well, the visibility is okay.」  
Receiving the beer, Gladiolus didn't open it immediately, but held it in his hand.  
After a brief silence, he suddenly talked about the past.

「Do you know? The first time I drank beer was 15 years old and my father gave it to me.  
Said to celebrate my entry into the Crowns Guard, then I realized that he had got my age wrong.  
but that day I drank the beer without correcting him.」  
Gladiolus didn't appreciate the taste of beer at the time.  
He just felt it was choking and bitter, but he was very happy to be able to be with Clarus.

「I always thought that if I grow up quick enough, I could share father's burden.  
He will be able to come home everyday, enjoy dinner with us, sleep well, or accompany us on holidays...」

In order to protect his king, Clarus kept secrets about possible invasion and acted normal.  
Gladiolus now understood how precious their last family dinner was, and how much expectation was in father's words when departing.  
Father loved them both, and he managed to arrange escape routes for remaining family members on the day of the signing ceremony, while himself were at the core of the attack.  
Monica and Dustin didn't have shifts that day, but they volunteered to protect Iris, Talcott and Jared. They said this was the only way to repay Clarus.

Gladiolus sat up abruptly and started drinking.  
It was after drinking the whole can, he could continue to squeeze the next sentence out of his chest.  
「Dad did his best and we don't hate him, we really don't...」

『Maybe not knowing is a blessing, so that the grief will end at some point.』  
Ignis said softly, they all knew when did the live streaming of the signing ceremony was interrupted,  
and even if all fragments pieced together based on the testimonies of survivors could not reach the core of the incident.  
The truth may never be uncovered, so they must find an acceptable explanation if they want to move on.

「...It's good to be able to use imagination, but no matter what, father must be at least a thousand times more valiant than I could have ever imagined...」  
Gladiolus could barely finished the sentence, buried his face in his hands and wept bitterly.

Memories with father came pouring down like avalanche.  
He remembered when he was very young, father would teach him how to wield a wooden sword and ask him to attack.  
Father would pretend to show weakness and teach Gladiolus a good lesson with lectures like "sometimes the weaker the enemy looks, the more you should be alert."

He remembered numerous times when Iris complained on trivial things about him, father would join her and nitpick him as well.  
But father always talk to him in private afterwards, pat his head gently, and say that it's a good thing for family members to show true feelings to each other, then suggest Gladiolus could do it once in a while.  
The father who was always the center of his attention at the parade of the founding anniversary and all sorts of formal occasions.  
Clarus was also the proud father who looked radiant when telling the history of the Amicitia family, and talked about the good old days vigorously when passing on his flask with family crest engraved to Gladiolus.

The beer fueled his tears, and Gladiolus finally stopped after about two cans.  
「I think I cried so hard that my brains flowed out...  
Sorry, Ignis, I was so immersed in my own feelings.  
How are you holding up?」

Ignis, who had been very quiet, was not ready to handle Gladiolus's consolation.  
He is not good at dealing with extreme emotions, to be precise, he doesn't know how to deal with it. 

Gladiolus could somehow understand and relate to that feeling.  
Ignis grew up while treating most people he encountered with respect, that meant he always had a distance with almost everyone.  
After Insomnia fell, for those acquaintance in Insomnia, Ignis would retain the possibility of them surviving the disaster until their death were confirmed.  
The ones who are dear to him were by his side, so there was no need to worry.

Except for that ONE person who made the headline.  
In Gladiolus's opinion, that person had profoundly influenced Ignis in many aspects, and Ignis himself may not be aware of it.

He picked up a can of beer, opened it as if preparing coffee for Ignis as usual, and handed it over.  
「If you don't know what to do, start with the first one.  
To King Regis, thank him for all his efforts in saving his people, and keeping the true hope alive for the world to look forward to.  
Others don't fully recognize his contribution now, they will in the future.」

Listening to Gladiolus's affirmative statement, Ignis somewhat relieved the grievances as he heard so many negative comments on King Regis while gathering intelligence in the past month.  
Ever since reading the headlines, Ignis understood that he didn't truly believe what happened, no matter how many cold hard facts were before him.

As Ignis grew up, he respected King Regis more and more.  
Like keeping similar hairstyle, choosing his clothing that matched Regis's taste, and trying to understand Regis's choice from his perspective.  
Although the elder once intimately suggested that Ignis could guide Noctis and act as his older brother, Ignis had always kept in mind of his status and duties, and he never overstepped the rules.  
King Regis was undoubtedly the one whom Ignis respected the most, and the closest person he could relate to like a father.

『...To King Regis, and Prime Minister Clarus.  
Thank him for protecting King Regis till the end, and for his dedication to Lucis over the years.』

Ignis's voice was a bit unstable, as sorrow and grief spread out, he eventually closed his eyes, the accumulated moisture flowed down his cheeks smoothly.  
He felt strange and yet relieved.  
He was finally be able to shed tears for someone he truly missed.

The world remained soundless for some time, until Gladiolus accidentally sneezed by a gust of wind.  
Ignis appreciated his partner who quietly accompanied during these private moments.  
Slightly recovered from sadness, he took out a handkerchief and gave it to him.

『It's the allergy season again.』  
「Ahh~~ It's an allergy. A very serious one...just tell them that.」  
『OK. Let's keep this between you and me.』

Many years later, what happened on stargazing hill of Lestallum is still a little secret between the two.


End file.
